1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a file processing apparatus, a file processing method, a program and a recording medium recording an index file which manages contents files in a recording medium, or playing the index file from the recording medium. More particularly, the invention relates to the file processing apparatus and the like capable of easily and rapidly executing processing such as relating to change of a hierarchical structure managed by the index file, by providing index information indicating entries (management information areas) in a lower hierarchy at corresponding entries in an upper hierarchy in a list form.
2. Background Art
Conventionally, as a method of finding a desired file easily from a lot of files recorded in a large capacity recording medium, a method of using an index file is proposed in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3 and so on.
The index file manages respective content files, formed or generated from a cluster of attribute information of respective contents files. As attribute information of content files, for example, there are thumbnail image data, text data of titles, imaging date and time, codec information, face detection information (detected face size, detected face position and detected face score in which detected face is digitalized) and the like. However, attribute information is not limited to the above. The attribute information of respective content files includes management information of respective content files.
The index file includes, for example, a text file (or metadata file) FTX, a thumbnail image file FTH and a property file FP as shown in FIG. 35. The attribute information of each content file is arranged separately in the text file FTX, the thumbnail image file FTH, and the property file FP.
According to the type of the content file, there is a case that there is no attribute information to be arranged in the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH, and no entry can be provided. In FIG. 35, a case that there is attribute information to be arranged in the text file FTX, the thumbnail image file FTH and the property file FP respectively as attribute information of respective content files.
In this case, the text file FTX manages text information (metadata in the case of metadata file). The thumbnail image file FTH manages image data of thumbnail. The property file FP manages attribute information (basic attribute information) other than attribute information concerning the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH, and also manages connection information between slots of other files.
In the property file FP, a header showing an attribute and the like is arranged at the head. Whereas in the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH, a header is not arranged at the head thereof. However, there is a case that a header showing an attribute and the like is arranged at the head also in the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH. Following the header, entries including attribute information of respective content files (a property entry #1, a property entry #2, . . . , a thumbnail entry #1, a thumbnail entry #2, a text entry #1, a text entry #2, . . . ,) are continuously arranged.
In each entry of the text file FTX, data indicating character strings of a disk title and a title concerning each content file and the like is allocated. In each entry of the thumbnail image file FTH, thumbnail image data indicating a disk title and the contents of each content file is allocated.
Each entry in the text file FTX and in the thumbnail image file FTH includes fixed-length slots respectively. The number of slots included in each entry is one or plural slots according to the amount of data of attribute information allocated to each entry. The types of attribute information are different according to the type of content data, therefore, there is a case that no entry is provided as described above.
In each entry of the property file FP, data indicating a disk title and an attribute of each content file is allocated. The property file FP includes fixed-length slots in the same way as the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH. In the property file FP, even when the types of content files are variously different, the entry is always provided corresponding to each content file.
In each entry of the property file FP, management information which specifies corresponding entries in the text file FTX and the thumbnail image file FTH is set as the management information indicating the relation with respect to the other entries (relation information shown by arrows in FIG. 35). In the entry of the property file FP including plural slots, management information which specifies next slot is set in respective slots. Also in each entry of the property file FP, information specifying a corresponding content file is set.
The index file is configured as described above. Accordingly, for example, titles of respective content files recorded in a recording medium 2 can be displayed in a list by playing data strings recorded in the text file FTX. Also, for example, thumbnail images of respective content files recorded in the recording medium 2 can be displayed in a list by playing data strings recorded in the thumbnail image file FTX.
It should be noted that the index file IF can define not only such existing content files but also existing folders or virtual folders by the files FTX, FTH, and FP. In each entry of the property file FP, management information indicating an entry of a folder in an upper hierarchy to which a corresponding content file or folder belongs is set. The index file is generated so as to improve user usability by managing content files by the hierarchical structure by the existing folder or the virtual folder.
FIG. 36 shows an example of correspondence between the property file and, content files and virtual folders. In the example, a virtual file in which an imaging date is “x-day of y-month” and a virtual file in which an imaging date is “z-day of y-month” exist on the same hierarchy, and a content file “MPEG2PS-1” exists in a lower hierarchy of the virtual file of “x-day of y-month”, and content files “MPEG2PS-2” and “MPEG2PS-3” exist in the lower hierarchy of the virtual file of “z-day of y-month”.
In the property file, as shown in FIG. 36, a file entry #1, a folder entry #4, a file entry #6, a folder entry #8 and a folder entry #9 are formed corresponding to the above hierarchical structure. A number of each entry is a number of a head slot in slots forming the entry. In the example in the drawing, a number of each entry is the minimum number of the slots which forms the entry for convenience.
The file entries #1, #6, and #9 respectively manage content files “MPEG2PS-1”, “MPEG2PS-2” and “MPEG2PS-3”, and folder entries #4 and #8 respectively manage virtual folders of “x-day of y-month” and “z-day of y-month”.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2004-227630
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2004-227633
[Patent Document 3] JP-A-2005-115815